Honesty may be the best policy in the workplace but it is extremely important to be careful about what you say to your boss, as even the slightest slip up could make or break your career. There are the obvious things to hold back from saying during your interactions with them, so to help you out we have listed the top 9 things you should never-ever say to your boss. Take a look!

NO

Unless it’s illegal or uneth- ical, it is a good idea to re- frain from saying a firm no to your boss. Ask questions, push back, or negotiate in- stead. And don’t get creative. ‘I’d rather not’ or ‘I can’t’ will have the same result. A can- do attitude is always a valued trait. ‘I can’t’ shows both a lack of confidence and un- willingness to take chances, neither of which will endear you to management

I DON’T KNOW.

You may not have the an- swers to every question, but your best guess and a promise to find out is much better than a shrug of the shoulders. Anytime your boss would need to do the work for you, assume that’s not a path you should take.

IT WASN’T ME; SHE/HE DID IT.

If you’re responsible, own it. If it’s not your responsibility or your fault, explain it, for all that’s worth. But do not point fingers at someone else, ever. That just makes you come across as incompetent and unprofessional.

IT’S NOT MY PROBLEM

When a problem in the busi- ness or within the team is identified that is not in your direct area but does concern your workplace, bring your ideas and capacity to contrib- ute when you can.

I JUST ASSUMED THAT…

That phrase causes frus- tration for many bosses, as they’d rather hear that you made an error in judgment and learned from it, versus excuses. To err is human, but to defer blame is a ca- reer killer.

THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE

Your manager doesn’t want to hear negativity or a lack of conviction. If you have con- cerns, state what they are, and ask for input.

ASK SOMEONE ELSE

When you are approached for an opportunity or re- quest, pull together ideas even if you cannot come up with them yourself; be a bridge to the solution, not a stop sign.

I GOT SO TRASHED LAST NIGHT

You might just be jawing over the prior evening, but to your boss this might be your hint that you plan to be especially unproductive that day.

It’s your responsibility to ask your boss if priorities have changed, as your objectives must stay aligned with your manager’s. Priorities are rarely stagnant, so as in most cases, your better option is to ask if you should reshuffle them.

SIGH!

The passive aggression and frustrating ambiguity of a sigh are more confounding and irritating than almost any other kind of self-ex- pression, believe it or not. It can be delivered in response to the full range of requests from your boss, and it seems sufficiently open to interpre- tation to allow you to deny even having sighed at all. But this is as true to you as it is absurd to your boss. We all know very well what a sigh means; it’s the official theme song of being annoyed, and the national anthem of im- position.

One of the best approaches in deciding whether to share your thoughts with your boss or ask sensitive questions is to put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself: Do your com- ments and questions reflect a positive, can-do, and con- fident demeanour? Remem- ber loose lips sink ships so choose your words carefully when you feel challenged at work if you want to thrive in your career.

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